Willie John

Willie John McBride is a rugby legend - the boy from Ballymena in Northern Ireland who became captain of the Ireland rugby team and captain of the British Lions for their unbeaten tour against South Africa in 1974. He has remained at the centre of rugby life ever since. During an international career lasting from 1962-75, Willie John played 17 tests for the Lions and was capped 63 times (12 as captain) by Ireland. He was awarded the MBE for services to rugby football in 1971 and later coached and managed the Lions and Ulster. Willie John reveals a man who loves his rugby, love, life, and loves to tell a good story. Despite his amazing success on the rugby field, his life was not always as happy and straightforward. He recounts and reveals details of his life from family tragedies to how he had to sleep with two bodyguards outside his door during the Troubles. The book also includes are many of Willie John's wonderful stories, for which he is justly famous.
 
Willie John McBride is a rugby legend - the boy from Ballymena in Northern Ireland who became captain of the Ireland rugby team and captain of the British Lions for their unbeaten tour against South Africa in 1974. He has remained at the centre of rugby life ever since. During an international career lasting from 1962-75, Willie John played 17 tests for the Lions and was capped 63 times (12 as captain) by Ireland. He was awarded the MBE for services to rugby football in 1971 and later coached and managed the Lions and Ulster. Willie John reveals a man who loves his rugby, love, life, and loves to tell a good story. Despite his amazing success on the rugby field, his life was not always as happy and straightforward. He recounts and reveals details of his life from family tragedies to how he had to sleep with two bodyguards outside his door during the Troubles. The book also includes are many of Willie John's wonderful stories, for which he is justly famous.